FARMINGTON – January is recognized as Stalking Awareness Month but the staff at Sexual Assault Victims Emergency Services Inc. works all year to help people learn more about this dangerous crime.

“Incidents of stalking are easily dismissed but stalking isn’t just by itself. It’s a prelude to some other form of violence like rape or murder,” said Bonnie Lisherness, sexual assault respond team coordinator for SAVES.

Stalkers almost never stop, and confronting a stalker may escalate the violence, said Julia Terry, community outreach and education coordinator in a statement.

‘Personal hardship’

“Stalking is a course of conduct that creates fear or intimidation for the victim. It’s an ongoing nuisance that causes personal hardship.

It’s repetitive and is considered stalking after two or more incidents,” Lisherness said.

SAVES offers a kit that helps the victim collect evidence.

“Everything has to be documented and it’s up to the victim to collect evidence such as place, time, date to create a pattern of conduct,” she said.

Victims are also encouraged to keep reporting incidents to police and not wait months to report.

“By the time the person comes in … it’s been ongoing for them. It’s usually not a long investigation for us . . . depending on what they tell us . . . there’s probable cause for us to make a charge or they may have to resort to a court ordered cease of harassment or a trespassing notice being served,” said police Detective Marc Bowering.

The average time when incidents are reported can run up to six or seven months but by then people lose a lot of valuable information, Lisherness said.

‘Maybe it will go away’

“It’s like a back pain. Most people think maybe it will go away or the person will get bored with it . . . ,” she said, but then they realize, “‘I can’t deal with this anymore.’ Victims never feel safe . . . and live it every minute, every day. They never escape while trying to document and collect evidence,” she said.

“Stalkers spend thousands of dollars on equipment to track where and what their victim is doing, even to the point of ruining the person’s credit or stealing their identity.” she said.

“They destroy a person’s life,” she said.

Even when victims see the danger and report the crime, stalking may be hard for authorities to recognize, investigate and prosecute, Terry said.

Franklin County district attorneys were among the first to prosecute and win a stalking case, Lisherness said. The stalker was sentenced to two days in jail, but it took two years of paperwork to reach that verdict.

Classified as a misdemeanor, it’s time consuming for the courts to address. It takes two or three misdemeanor charges to bump it up to a felony charge, she said.

“If more people understand that stalking is a serious crime,” said Judy Rawlings, director, “we’d have a better chance to hold offenders accountable. Knowledge can help communities support victims and prevent tragedies.”

For more information, contact SAVES at [email protected] or by calling 778-9522.